Independent Distribution Loses Another Outlet.

Red Envelope Entertainment, the acquisition and and distribution wing of Netflix has closed its doors. As blockbusters make more money and indies get more and more marginalized, going direct to DVD or to Cable TV, we hate to see indie distributors disappear, thus making our cinematic choices that much more limited.

Red Envelope Entertainment had released some pretty significant Chlotrudis films in its short life, including Chlotrudis Best Documentary winners from the past two years PROTAGONIST and THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED. Just recently Red Envelope provided U.S. distribution for two Chlotrudis co-presentations, LOVE SONGS and WATER LILIES. Hopefully another company will turn up to take its place.

While discussing the difficulties of indie and foreign-language film distribution, a film that is sure to be of interest to Chlotrudis members has just been released directly to DVD in the States. HELP ME EROS the Taiwanese film directed by and starring Lee Kang-Sheng, muse and lead actor for beloved Chlotrudis director Tsai Ming-Liang, was released this week on DVD without receiving an official theatrical release. While most Chlotrudis members would probably prefer to see HELP ME EROS on the big screen, better on DVD than not at all!